Key facts
- Ping An Insurance's first-half net profit rose 36% year-on-year to 92.585 billion yuan.
- Operating profit increased by 8.3% to 84.196 billion yuan.
- The asset management business saw a 236.8% surge in operating profit.
- Life and health insurance new business value grew 11.2%.
- The number of retail customers reached 253 million.
China's Ping An Insurance reported a better-than-expected 36% year-on-year increase in first-half net profit, reaching 92.585 billion yuan ($13.78 billion) for the six months ended June 30. This performance surpassed analysts' mean estimate of 85.528 billion yuan.
Operating profit, which excludes short-term investment volatility, grew 8.3% to 84.196 billion yuan. The significant boost came from the asset management business, where operating profit surged 236.8% year-on-year to 9.172 billion yuan, driven by a rally in China's stock markets. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.2% and tech-heavy boards like the STAR 50 Index gained over 64% in the first half.
In contrast, the property and casualty insurance business saw a 12.4% decline in operating profit, while the life and health insurance segment experienced a modest 0.9% increase. However, new business value in the life and health segment grew 11.2% to 24.847 billion yuan, supported by demand for higher-yielding savings products in a low-interest-rate environment.
Ping An's president and Co-CEO, Xie Yonglin, noted that a potential levy on offshore policy gains would have minimal impact on the company due to its limited overseas business. The number of retail customers increased by 0.9% to 253 million by the end of June. Last week, its banking unit, Ping An Bank, reported a 3.3% rise in first-half net profit.